All the educational institutions at primary, secondary and higher secondary levels will be reopened on September 12, after a prolonged 18 months of closure, said the Education Minister Dr Dipu Moni.
She made these remarks after inaugurating the new building of Mahamaya Government Primary School in Chandpur Sadar Upazila on Friday.
“We have already made preparations to open the schools and colleges as per the directive of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. That is why we have set the date to September 12.”
She reiterated, Secondary School Certificate (SSC) examinations will be held in November while Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) examinations will be conducted in December, as per the previous announcement.
Elaborating on the details, the minister said this year's SSC-HSC candidates and next year's candidates will attend classes every day at the first phase. The rest will come to school one day a week, but the number of their classes will gradually be increased following the corona situation.
In the meantime, remote learning through online and television classes will continue.
Regarding the reopening of the university, the minister said, "We have discussed with the Vice-Chancellors on reopening the universities. They said universities are likely to reopen in mid-October after all students are jabbed with the first dose of Covid-19 vaccine.”
“However, no final decision has been taken yet,” she added.
In the meantime, Dipu Moni mentioned the Corona infection rate has gradually dropped as a result of the prolonged closure of the educational institutions for about 18 months.
About inoculation of school goers, Dipu Moni said, “It was decided earlier that everyone above the age of 18 would get the vaccine. However, we have decided to vaccinate all above age of 12 in phases.”
“Even though corona transmission is on the decline, teachers, students and parents have to follow health guidelines completely. The Ministry of Education alone cannot ensure this. In that case, the district administration, police, journalists and politicians must all work altogether," she was uttering about ensuring the safety after educational institutions reopen.
Meanwhile, the National Technical Advisory Committee (NTAC) on Covid-19 has given a green signal to reopen the educational institutions, as the pandemic situation is getting better in the country.
The members of NTAC came to a concerted decision at a virtual meeting on Thursday night.
Professor Dr Mohammad Shahidullah, Chairman of the committee, told the media, "No obstacle remains for unlocking the doors of the educational institutions for the corona virus infection has been dropping and massive vaccination is underway. However, precautionary measures must be taken considering the situation."
Besides, an inter-ministerial meeting is set to be held tomorrow (September 5), to discuss the to-do’s and measures before and after the opening of the school-college.
Earlier on Thursday, Prime Minister and Leader of the House Sheikh Hasina told the parliament that measures are being taken to reopen the schools and colleges soon.
All educational institutions in the country have been closed since March 17 last year due to the coronavirus outbreak. Despite several attempts, it has not been possible to open the doors of educational institutions due to a surge in transmission.
So far, according to the latest announcement, the ongoing closure of the educational institutions has been extended till September 11, this month.
